The head of the People's Republic of Donetsk Alexander Zakharchenko

MOSCOW, March 1. /TASS/. Most residents in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) trust the current authorities and do not want to live within Ukraine, says a survey carried out by a group of sociologists from the Donetsk National University.

The opinion poll published by the Donetsk news agency on Saturday says that nearly 55.7% trust the authorities (42.1 out of them are convinced the power "does its utmost" and 13.6% are satisfied with its work) while 33.3% believe "it is still early to judge [the authorities’] work."

When asked what DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko should do for resolving the military conflict, the overwhelming majority of the respondents - nearly 70% - replied that "he should seek reconciliation but be tough in sticking up for the DPR demands."

A relatively small percentage of respondents (13.6 and 11.9% respectively) have expressed more extreme opinions - either "to seek reconciliation and compromise" or "to act from the position of strength and to solve the conflict in a military way."

At the same time, only 19% of the polled see the future for Donbass within Ukraine but as a separate subject in the federation with a high level of political and economic independence while the majority (74.6%). cannot imagine their future as part of Ukraine.

About 94.1 residents of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic agreed fully or partially that combat activities in Donbass are Ukraine’s military aggression against its own citizens.

At least 3,217 residents of the DPR cities and towns of Donetsk, Makeyevka, Gorlovka, Snezhnoye and Khartsyzsk have been polled.